instant
232
1.0
- noun
- /ˈɪnstənt/
- And in an instant his life was over.
- just for an instant
- an instant in time
- in one instant
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Watch on YouTubeAnd in an instant his life was over.
- And in an instant his life was over.
- I knew in that instant that my son was not here.
- In the next instant, your heart begins to beat.
- that the instant I laid that thing down.
- But in Christianity, there is the instant when God said let there be light.
- So the present, the present is an instant, a moment.
Examples
-
I thought he would do it; it never crossed my mind for an instant that he wouldn't.
Fiction book (1990) -
From the very first instant I saw you, I knew.
-
And it made me understand in an instant why you sleep.
-
I knew in that instant that my son was not here.
-
All that seemed to change in an instant on March 11, 2011.
Academic text (2011) -
In the next instant, your heart begins to beat.
-
It's quite possible I was feeling more or less fragile at that instant.
-
The Ghost throws himself into it, and in an instant, he is gone.
Fiction book (1990) -
Matthew was up like a shot and to Nathan's side in an instant, with Becca on his heels.
Fiction book (1990) -
Should he lose his grip, even for an instant, he would crash to the ground below.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A unit of time equal to sixty seconds
∞
1.0
A very short time or a particular point in time
543
1.0
A very short time
72
1.3
A very short time
72
3.7
A very short time
43
2.5
A very short moment when something happens
35
9.9
A very short time, like a moment, used in informal speech
35
2.8
A very short moment that passes almost instantly
22
4.9
A very short time like a moment
17
7.2
A very short time, just a moment
11
3.6
A very short time equal to one millionth of a second
8
9.9
A very short time
8
2.5
A very short moment of time
5
7.2
A very short moment when something happens
1
9.9
A very short time, like an instant
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
How Brief
Surface Forms
Etymology
Instant comes from the Latin instans, from in- 'in' and stare 'to stand', like English 'stand'. Think of a moment that 'stands' right there and then — very short and immediate — which is why an instant is a very brief moment.